| Despite the outpouring of sympathy and outrage following the brutal 1998 murder of Matthew Shephard, a gay Wyoming student, the majority of similar killings would appear to go virtually unnoticed by the mainstream. In a recent analysis of homophobic violence in Canada, the author compiled a list of 88 homicides that occurred in the 1990s. In some cases the victims were perceived to be homosexual or transgendered; in others, there were allegations of a "homosexual advance." The first section of this paper focuses on the criminological literature -which addresses how these types of killings are constructed and addressed by the media, the police, and the queer community -- and the fierce debate among legal scholars, some of whom have argued that many of these killers face little or no jail time. By pathologizing the victim, they argue, a panoply of juridical practices are deployed which, in turn, regulate and vilify homosexuality in the courtroom. In the second section, the author uses media reports, case law and interviews with survivors and criminal justice personnel to examine the following variables: region, gender, victim-suspect interaction, the intensity of violence, and judicial outcomes. In the final section, the paper critically analyzes media constructions, policing and judicial procedures, and suggests new approaches the queer community can employ in response to these killings. |
Updated 05/20/2006